India`s parliamentary democracy on trial

Madhav Godbole (b. 1936), MA in Development Economics (Williams College, Mass., USA) and MA and PhD in Economics (University of Bombay) joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1959. His earlier assignments included secretary, Petroleum and Natural Gas; and secretary, Urban Development in Government of India; and principal finance secretary and chairman, Maharashtra State Electricity Board in the Government of Maharashtra. He has also served a five year stint (1980-85) in the Asian Development Bank, Philippines.

India is the world’s most vibrant and stable democracy. This is largely because of Nehru’s vision and firm commitment to parliamentary democracy and his carefully nurturing of it in the formative years. But there is a widespread disenchantment in the country today about parliamentary democracy. Nehru had described the parliament as the highest temple of democracy and the grand inquest of the nation. However, over the years it has been marginalized, devalued and made dysfunctional beyond recognition. The downhill journey began during the Indira Gandhi regime and has continued since then. India’s Parliamentary Democracy on Trial analyses these disturbing developments. It takes a close look at the experiences of Western democracies on issues relevant to India. The book provides comprehensive analysis of critical issues and concerns, and suggests well-considered and sound reforms with a view to improving the functioning and time management of parliament and its public image, credibility and relevance. The author argues that this will not be possible unless a stake is created for all political parties in orderly functioning of Parliament. This perceptive, analytical and penetrating book is a must read for parliamentarians, politicians, academics, researchers, media persons, opinion-makers, bureaucrats and civil society

ISBN: 9788129118042
Author: Godbole Madhav
Published by: Rupa & Co
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ASHOKA THE GREAT

Wytze Keuning (Author) was a Schoolteacher and Headmaster of a primary school in the Netherlands since 1897, when, in1937, he decided to dedicate his further career to writing the historical biography of Ashoka.The three-volume biography was published between 1941 and 1948. He died in 1957.Elisabeth Steur (Translator) worked as a Child Psychologist between 1962 and 1995 and was fascinated by Keuning’s book and her experiences in the surroundings of one of India’s great spiritual masters in the late eighties. She took upon herself the task to make these forgotten books available to the Indian reader by taking care of the translation after her retirement.

Ashoka The Great chronicles the life of Emperor Ashoka. It is fictional biography and more accurately can be called historical fiction. The original Dutch version was a trilogy, published separately in three volumes. The trilogy was written between1937-1947 by a Dutch scholar Wytze Keuning in Groningen in the Netherlands. These three volumes – Ashoka: The Wild Prince, Book I, Ashoka: The Wise Ruler, Book II and Ashoka: The World’s Great Teacher, Book III – are now brought together and presented in this single volume Ashoka The Great. The book is an exhilarating, spiritually edifying and deeply Moving story of one of India’s greatest emperors. It recreates the life and times of the Mauryas with an authenticity that is remarkable. The book presents a plausible vision of the past balanced by captivating story. It is said that a great book if it is to endure cannot do without profound ideas. Keuning perfectly fuses facts and thoughts, Mauryan customs and mores, life and reflection on the meaning of life as seen through the vision of Ashoka’sgurus and the history of personal influences upon Ashoka that marked his rule and legacy. This and more makes it a rare and distinguished book.

ISBN: 9788129117328
Author: Wytze Keuning
Published by: Rupa & Co
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History of Indian and Eastern Architecture:A Set of Two Volumes

JEMES FERGUSSON was born in 1808 in Scotland and educated in Edinburgh. He emigrated to Kolkata where he worked as a partner in a merchant house. He became a highly successful indigo planter, which enabled him to retire after 10 years in India, settle in London, and get trained as an architect. During his travels across India he became interested in its architecture. Between 1834 and 1843 he made published The Rock-Cut Temples of India (1845). A prolific writer, Fergusson’s other books include The Handbook of Architecture (1855),History of Modern Architecture (1862),Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Restored(1851), Trees and Serpent Worship (1868).and The Temples of The Jews in Jerusalem (1878). He also presented papers at the British Institute of Architects on the architecture of southern

The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and the numerous religions worshipped by the people. The information on architecture was, however, available only in the silpa-shastras, which concerned themselves largely with theoretical and religious matters, and not the forms of existing buildings. A systematic study of Indian architecture and its principles only began in the 19th century through the painstaking works of British scholars and engineers using for the first time, the newly-invented photography and the use of site plans. James Fergusson’s two-volume History of Indian Architecture and History of Eastern Architecture in India, China and Japan, which first appeared in 1876, was the result of such efforts, and was the first-ever major publication of its kind. Fergusson examined and classified ancient Indian architecture into Buddhist, Himalayan, Dravidian and Chalukyan styles, noting that differences in architectural styles could be attributed to differences in religion. A pioneering classic, Fergusson’s History sheds light not only on the forms of ancient Indian architecture, but also the mental landscape of the British scholars who studied it. Though subsequent scholars such as EB Havell and Ananda K Coomaraswamy have criticised Fergusson’s conclusions, the value of his detailed presentation has always been acknowledged. The text is that of the 1910 edition, revised and expanded by James Burgess and R. Phene Spiers.

ISBN: 9788129117359
Author: JEMES FERGUSSON
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Memsahib's chronicles

Dr Suchita Malik teaches English language and literature in the Government College for Men, Chandigarh. Having graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, and then completing her post graduation from Delhi University, she also got a diploma in Journalism from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. A keen academic, Suchita did her doctorate thesis in the genre of 'Faction' and earned her PhD from Punjab University. She has been writing Middles, feature articles and travelogues, which have been published in various newspapers. Indian Memsahib is her first novel.

Memsahib’s Chronicles… a story of Grit and Gulmour, attempts to present the amazing world of these civil servants as it is- full of grit, glamour, tension, temptations and privileges. Sunaina, despite being an integral part of the system, looks at this world with dispassionate eyes and provides a peep into this zealously protected world. She takes the reader along her journey with the ease of a garden walk.

ISBN: 9788129117496
Author: Suchita Malik
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Presentation excellence 25

Carlton C. Casler brings to this project nearly three decades as a public speaker, presenter, and trainer. In addition to being an attorney specializing in real estate and contract low, he is a professional member of the prestigious National Speakers Association.

Professional speaker or novice, trainer or teacher, Presentation Excellence, by Carlton C. Casler, is the last word on preparing, delivering, and succeeding. This book will provide all you need to know about: * Determining the optimum presentation format. * Choosing the best software / technology aids. * Interacting with the audience. * Facing the challenge of the Q&A. * Learning the secrets used by high-visibility speakers. * And so much more…!

ISBN: 9788129117373
Author: Carlton C. Casler
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Fish in paneer soupa

DEEP GHATAK is a communications professional with extensive experience in Corporate Communications, PR and Journalism. Interested in literature and performing arts, he has been writing since he was a student. He works for an MNC and is a guest lecture at the Haaga Helia University, Helsinki.

A romantic idealist, Somashish Mukherjee a.k.a. Som learns the first lesson of his life when he is spurned in love. Crestfallen, he leaves Kolkata and heads to Delhi in search of better luck. The Capital has many surprise in store for Som. He finds a job in a public relations firm and makes friends, only to lose everything in a sinister conspiracy. Like a fish pulled out of water and flung straight into hot soup, Som struggles for survival. He tries to get back what is rightfully his, including the love of his life. Will he succeed in this game of one-upmanship?

ISBN: 9788129117465
Author: DEEP GHATAK
Published by: Rupa & Co
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The all bengali crime detectivesa

Suparna Chatterjee was born and brought up in Kolkata. She has traveled extensively, having lived in three continents, before finally moving back to India. The All Bengali Crime Detectives is her first published work. She also writes short stories, poems and adventure stories for children and young adults. Her first musical play Anand and Benaifer has been staged in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Her other passions include traveling, art, music and meditation. She is a volunteer with the Art of Living Foundation. She currently lives in Bengaluru with her husband and daughter.

In a middle-class Calcutta neighborhood, the lives of four recently retired men take an unexpected turn when they stumble upon a crime. Will the unlikely ‘detectives’ be able to catch the criminal? Or will they unravel something even more sinister? The Protagonists grab this exciting opportunity to rise above their mundane existence. They defy the ordinary, stretch their boundaries, and in the process discover something precious. Meanwhile, a lot is going on in the Paara (neighborhood)-a rather difficult match-making process for a ‘wheatish complexioned’ daughter, rivalry between two neighboring clubs over Durga Pujo, squabbles between the ‘ outdated’ seniors and the younger members of the local club, attempts at an impossible romance by a road-side Rome…

ISBN: 9788129117823
Author: Suparna Chatterjee
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Two Worlds

Nandita C. Puri made her literary debut with Nine On Nine, a critically-acclaimed collection of short stories about the urban Indian woman. She is the author of Unlikely Hero, the best-selling biography of her husband, actor Om Puri. A columnist with major Indian publication, and a screenplay writer, Nnandita wrote the Bollywood film Mera Dil Lake Dekho. Her next script based on her short story, At Jenny’s is ready for filming. She is currently wrapping up her next book, Breaking News, a tongue-in-cheek look at the Indian media. Nandita lives in Mumbai, Where her refrigerator is always stocked with food for thought as she conceptualizes a new book in yet another genre, Eating India, her foray into gluttony with co-author Simon Majumdar (Of Eat My Globe Fame)

Two Worlds is a confluence of worlds, world-views and two strong-willed women. Spanning centuries and cities, the novel explores Bengal’s nationalist movement, the murky Hindi film industry and the nexus between the media and glamorous Boolywood, quietly transitioning into the quiet anonymity of London and Wales. A broad sweep of character- both historical and fictionus- form the fascinating world of the story as it unfold. As India awakens in its struggle for freedom, Ela Sen, brave and beautiful, is burdened with a forbidden love society cannot sanction and she will not abandon. Decades later, in modern-day India fiery journalist Oona Roy lives life on her own terms, wielding her pen against the corruption around her. But as her world crumbles, the desperately unhappy Oona embarks on a quest, dinging into the long-ago life of a woman who had been as unhappy as herself. Little does she know that in delving into her past, the will find her own future.

ISBN: 9788129117526
Author: Nandita C. Puri
Published by: Rupa & Co
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What the body remembers

Shauna Singh Baldwin was born in Montreal and grew up in India. She is the author of English Lessons and Other Stories and the co-author of A Foreign Visitor’s Survival Guide to America. Her short stories have been published widely and have won numerous prestigious literary awards in the US, Canada and India. The story that was to become What the Body Remembers was awarded the Saturday Night/CBC Literary Prize. What the Body Remembers is the recipient of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize 2000 for Best Book in Canada and the Caribbean. She lives in Milwaukee.

It’s 1937, and with her father in debt, motherless sixteen-year-old Roop learns she is to become the second wife of Sardarji, a wealthy Sikh landowner whose first wife, Satya, has failed to bear him a child. Roop believes that the strong-willed Satya will treat her as a sister, but their relationship swiftly becomes ominous and complicated. What the Body Remembers is also Satya’s story. Mortified when Sardarji marries Roop, Satya resorts to desperate measures to maintain her place in society and her husband’s heart. Sardarji himself struggles as the India he knows begins to change when separatist tensions between Hindus and Muslims trap the Sikhs in a horrifying middle ground and the departing British prepare to divide the land into India and Pakistan.

ISBN: 9788129117472
Author: Baldwin Shauna Singh
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Who-zatt: a comprehensive world cup quiz book

GAUTAM BHIMANIwas born on an auspicious cricketing date,25 June, the date India played her first ever Test in 1932, also the date India won the World Cup in 1983. Cricket has been in his consciousness ever since. Six months after he joined ESPN in 2001, an off-beat story on the whacky ways to watch cricket sparked off a trend. Bhimani has covered international cricket in every single Test playing country other than Pakistan, as well as non- traditional venues like Sharjah, Toronto and Holland.

NAVNEET PRABHU, a media professional in Mumbai, is an avid quizzer and sports aficionado. With a passion for sports and cricket in particular, he has worked on the sports desks of reputed television networks in India covering high profile sporting events along the way. He has also been associated with various quiz competitions in the capacity of a researcher.

# Which is the ONLY venue at the 2011 World Cup named after a current country premier? # Who represented England in the 1992 World Cup and was in the Zimbabwe squad in 1983 but never got a single game? # Who won India’s first ever World Cup man-of-the-match award? # Which venue at the 1996 World Cup was named after a former India Hockey Captain? # Which Delhi Ranji player went on to represent a different country at the 1996 World Cup? WHO-ZATT is full of these teasing deliveries and several hundred more for you to face as you take guard, from simple full tosses and tempting half volleys to tougher bouncers and even a few unplayable googlies

ISBN: 9788129118035
Author: GAUTAM BHIMANI & NAVNEET PRABHU
Published by: Rupa & Co
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THE CRICKET WORLD CUP: CHERISH AND RELISH

Devendra Prabhudesai completed his MA (Social Work) from TISS, Mumbai in 1998, and since August 2000 he has been associated with cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and Sumedh Shah's Professional Management Group. He is presently Content Editor of www.cricketforindia.com, India's first cricket coaching website, and Media Executive at 'alma mater' PMG.

The tenth edition of cricket’s ultimate quadrennial event will be played in the subcontinent from 19 February to 2 April 2011. CWC 2011 will feature riveting batting, bowling and fielding, with the best teams batting for the biggest prize of all. The Australians, winners of the last three editions, do not seem as infallible as they did four year ago. Co-hosts India and Sri Lanka will be eager to show- case their proficiency in home territory. South Africa will look to display everything that they have gained on their recent visit to the subcontinent, and the rapidly improving England will be the dark horse. This book offers the reader a sneak peek at the events that shaped the first nine editions of Cricket’s premier event. It also celebrates the individuals who shaped those events and left an indelible impression on the history of the game

ISBN: 9788129117632
Author: Devendra Prabhudesai
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Show me a hero

ADITYA SUDARSHAN is a fiction writer. He is the author of a novel, A nice Quiet Holiday (Westland Books, 2009), a play, Sensible People, and several short stories and television scripts. He also writes literary criticism for The Literary Review and other publications.

Fresh out of college, Prashant Padmanabham is rich, confident, and certain of his filmmaking talents, as he gets ready to make a movie about his hero, a cricketer whose career crashed in controversy. Elsewhere, in a grimy apartment in another part of Delhi, his former classmate vaibhav struggles to cope with the burdens of adult existence. Beset by self-doubt and loneliness, unsure of his place in the world, he searches desperately for the path of least resistance. But in agreeing to help with Prashant’s movie, Vaubhav finds that he has stepped into danger. As the boys delve into the life of a man who was never shy of making enemies, they come face-to-face with their own vulnerability. A tragedy, murder mystery, and a coming-of-age tale, Show Ma a Hero is the layered story of innocent youth finding the courage to fight.

ISBN: 9788129117342
Author: ADITYA SUDARSHAN
Published by: Rupa & Co
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The year of high treason

VITHAL RAJAN is the author of Holmes of the Raj, Sharmaji Padmashree, The Legend of Ramulamma, and several short stories. He completed his Ph.D. from London School of Economics. He was the first Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Sweden, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. In 2006, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada for high merit and lifetime achievement in the service of humanity. He has founded and managed several NGOs in Indian in a voluntary capacity.

THE YEAR OF HIGH TREASON brings together all the famous literary heroes and villains of the 20th century under on roof, in the most unexpected of settings-Delhi, 1911 for the epoch-making coronation Durbar of King George the Fifth. Meet an exciting array of characters on these pages: the detective duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr Waston, sent by Winston Churchill to protect the king; two popular gentleman thieves, Arsene Lupin and Raffles. Who have crossed swords with Hoomes before: the mysterious Dr Fu Manchu, dreaded by the British: Mikhail Strogoff, the tsar’s special courier; and Tarzan and Karzan , the viceroy of apes. A stellar role is played by the Imperial crown of India which, despite being the heaviest ever, disappears into thin air! This racy, humorous novel on the secret history of the Coronation Durbar will take you on an unforgettable walk back in time.

ISBN: 9788129117021
Author: VITHAL RAJAN
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Pyramid of virgin dreams

Vipul Mittra is an officer of the Indain Administrative service (IAS). He currently serves in Gujarat and lives with his family in Ahmedabad. It took him ten years to pen down his tricky, slick perspective!

It all begins with the bumpy Jonga ride in the woods-his childhood illegal poaching expedition under the patronage of a band of idle cops, to bring in a full partridge and half-a-blackbuck to conjure up the dinner for his father’s boss. That day, eight-year-old kartikeya kukreja solemnly swears that one day he too would be revered as’ IAS’ Kartikeya eventually discovers the secret of his father’s fawning subordinates’ wriggling their way up the pyramid. When it is his turn, Kartikeya himself experiences a similar hilarious predicament. Idiotically, he sees time rush by through a lifetime spent in inanities, and all but feels like the redundant antique table that moves out with him on his every transfer! The web of Revati’s elusive dreams tantalises him, and his wife and children bring him back to the real world. Will he juggle the two well, or lose himself in it forever? Pyramid of Virginal Dreams is a refreshingly original rendition of the slippery life in the bureaucracy. The book is spunky and replete with comical imageries drawn from a farcical, albeit hopeful India .

ISBN: 9788129117441
Author: Vipul Mittra
Published by: Rupa & Co
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Focus, Sam

ROHIT GORE grew up in a number of cities in India. He has a degree in Engineering and an MBA from SP Jain Institute. Rohit is a regular contributor to many online writing forums. He loves travel and sports, not necessarily in that order.

Sameer Sathe, a.k.a Sam, is an accident-prone young man. He is good at running his bookshop, but he is hopeless at growing up. He has fallen in and out of love with seven women in his life. Apart from his love life, the other problem that plagues Sam is his once-a-year accidents. After his twenty-fifth accident, a mystic tells him that he is cursed and that the next mishap will kill him. There is only one way out. One of the women Sameer fell in love with can save him. A desperate Sameer tries to reconnect with all the seven women. He realises that he had affected their lives profoundly, and most often in a terrible way. Follow Sam’s journey and find out if his life is worth saving.

ISBN: 9788129117458
Author: ROHIT GORE
Published by: Rupa & Co
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